JBU Cathedral Choir Spring Break Tour in Southern California

Siloam Springs, Ark (February 28, 2000) - The John Brown University Cathedral Choir will present programs of choral music at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 26 at First Baptist Church in Monrovia. The concert is part of a spring break choir tour to southern California. The service is free and open to the community.

The Cathedral Choir is comprised of 52 of the most qualified singers attending JBU, and represents many academic disciplines. The Choir will present songs from a variety of musical styles from the Renaissance through the Twentieth Century. Included on the program will be Mozart's Dixit Dominus; Mendelssohn's Heilig; from the rich literature of Russia, Gretchaninoff's Holy Radiant Light; settings of Precious Lord and There is a Balm in Gilead; the spiritual Elijah Rock; and the traditional A Mighty Fortress is our God.

The Cathedral Choir has a long-standing tradition of excellence since its beginning in 1942. The choir has traveled extensively across the United States and has presented worship services in well-known churches like First Presbyterian Church, Orlando, Fla., First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, Ark., Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Okla., Calvary Baptist Church, Knoxville, Tenn., and Northwest Bible Church, Dallas, Texas.

Choral Director Paul Smith received his bachelor's degree in music with an emphasis in vocal performance from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., and his master of music degree, also with an emphasis in vocal performance, from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan. He has also done graduate work at California State University in Los Angeles, where he was voted "Outstanding Conductor" by the music faculty.

Prior to joining the JBU music faculty, Smith was the principal choral director at Anderson University at Anderson, Ind., for five years. He has also served as a choral clinician across the nation and has had solo engagements throughout California, Oregon, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, the most recent in Carmina Burana with the North Arkansas Symphony.

John Brown University is a private university providing Christ-centered higher education to over 1,500 students from over 47 states and 33 countries. JBU is recognized by the John Templeton Foundation in their Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and is included in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of top regional colleges and universities.